This invention relates to a device for attaching an implement or instrument, such as a knife, telephone, pager, and the like to the apparel of a user.
A user of various hand held instruments has several options for clipping those instruments to his or her belt or the like when the user is not immediately using them. A common method is to insert the instrument into a case rigidly clipped to the user""s belt. Other clips attach directly to the instrument itself Such designs are often found not to be practical or convenient in that they typically are intrusive.
Other designs for holding such instruments allow for rotation of the instrument. U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,102 discloses a design that holds a phone via a flanged lug fastened on the back side of the phone. The lug slides into a slot on a clip via the flanges that can be fastened to a person""s belt. When the lug is at the deepest part of the slot, a spring activated projection acts on the lug to keep it from sliding from the slot. This design allows for the phone to rotate while in the slot, which can alleviate the discomfort of a rigid clip. However, the clip design has disadvantages. First, the rotational forces on the phone can cause the phone to dislodge. Also, even without rotating the phone, a tug on the phone towards the opening of the slot can overcome the spring acting on the projection to release the phone.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a clip for hand held instruments which overcomes the before mentioned problems associated with previous designs.
To attain this object, the invention provides a clip design that allows an instrument to be removably attached to the clip. The clip attaches the belt of the user using two opposing members pulled together by a u-shaped spring metal-plate. The instrument attaches to the clip via a pin fitted into a slot on the clip. The pin has a head and a stem portion for being held in the slot of the clip. The diameter of the pin stem is greater than the width of the slot, but has two opposing flat surfaces whereby the pin stem may fit into the slot only when the pin is rotated to a certain angle. At the end of the slot, the slot has a circular shape with a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the round portion of the pin stem. This allows for the pin to rotate in the clip.
To remove the instrument from the clip, the instrument must be rotated to a horizontal position, or where the flat surfaces are parallel to the narrow portions of the slot, then the instrument may be slid out of the slot.
The clip design provides a locking mechanism to lock the pin into place. The diameter of the pin being greater than the width of the slot provides a means whereby the instrument cannot be pulled from the clip, except when rotated to a certain angle. This helps alleviate the problem of the instrument from becoming dislodged from the clip.
The design also provides for a clip whereby the instrument can rotate even when it is locked into place. This helps overcome the problems in the prior art by helping alleviate the discomfort associated with a rigid attachment device design by allowing the instrument to rotate to another position while sitting or walking.